


Peng  Lu  Ji  An (Ward Off, Roll Back, Press, Push)

by mugi_says_eep



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternative Magic, Bonus chapter--now with more tumbling around and kissing and being happy boyfriends, M/M, Post-Canon, internal martial arts, might not be everyone's cup of pumpkin mocha breve but here goes. . ., second year at uni
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9171406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mugi_says_eep/pseuds/mugi_says_eep
Summary: When Simon takes up Tai Chi, he gets all the usual benefits--a deeper sense of well-being, better sleep, tighter abs and quads. But the best benefit of all is the one that he least expected. . .





	1. Chapter 1

**Simon**

It’s a warm spring afternoon near the end of term in my second year at uni. Penny’s off studying in the library. And Baz won’t be along until later. So for the time being, I have the flat to myself.

 

I’m feeling a bit low, so I decide it’s a good time to practice my forms. I’ve been studying Tai Chi for over a year now. My therapist had recommended it as a good way to center myself and “get out of my head,” as she put it, when things started feeling a bit too bleak.

 

Despite all the time I spent carrying the Sword of Mages--or maybe because of it--I knew practically nothing about Asian martial arts. But it sounded interesting. So when I saw a poster for a Tai Chi demonstration at the Student Union, I decided to go along and see what it was about.

 

I don’t know what I expected when I got there, but I certainly wasn’t prepared to be as deeply moved as I was by the slow, graceful movements of the Tai Chi performers. As I watched, I was struck by the sense of deep tranquility they all seemed to possess. The group went through several different sets of movements, explaining that they were called “forms,” and then ended with a set of faster movements using fancy, red fans.

 

After the demonstration was over, I felt compelled to walk over to one of the performers and ask for a leaflet about Tai Chi classes. As I turned around, I was surprised to see a tiny, old person (Man? Woman? Hard to tell, but probably a woman. . maybe??) in flowing white robes standing right behind me. She stood with her hands in the sleeves of her robes and bowed very slightly. “I am Master Li. I will see you in class on Saturday morning, Simon Snow.” Then she turned and walked away.

 

* * *

 

So now every Saturday morning, I take the Tube to Leicester Square and walk up Charing Cross Road to Little Newport Street. From there, I follow a meandering path through London’s Chinatown to reach Master Li’s practice hall.

 

In class, we learn the movements of Yang Twenty-Four Form and Master Li lectures on _qi,_ or chi. It’s all a bit mysterious, but if I had to describe it, I guess I’d say _qi_ is like The Force in _Star Wars_ , but without the midi-chlorians. _Qi is the vital force. It flows through the universe, activating and nurturing life. It connects the great and the small, Heaven and Earth. Qi is in everything and everything produces qi._

 

Sometimes Master Li keeps me after class for a just a minute, to give me an extra word of advice or encouragement. _Know this, Simon Snow. Qi cannot be destroyed. It merely changes from one form to another, in an endless loop. Heaven qi, Earth qi, Human qi. All are interconnected, always changing, always moving. Ever-present._ I think she’s trying to tell me something, but I have no idea what it is.

 

* * *

 

Master Li’s words run through my head now as I go through the movements of the forms. _The forms move the qi through the body. This in itself is good for you. Fewer aches and pains when you get old like me. Ha ha. But also, as it moves, qi generates jing, or energy. As you develop in your practice, this jing becomes more elevated, more refined. Closer to Heaven._

 

 **Preparation** Stand straight with your feet together, arms at your sides, knees slightly bent, shoulders relaxed. Breathe deeply, and imagine that you are sending roots down from the soles of your feet deep into the center of the Earth. Take Another deep breath, and a third. **Yang Twenty-Four Form** , BEGIN.

 

 **Beginning Position** Feet together. _Wuji_ Step out with the left foot, shift the weight and settle. _Taiji_  Arms come up to shoulder height, drawing energy from the Earth as they rise. _The Ten Thousand Things._ Arms back down to waist height, pressing the energy into the _dantian_ , or center of gravity in the lower abdomen. _Use the mind/heart (xin) to move the qi. You must cause it to sink soundly. Then it can gather into the bones._

 

Turn the right toe in, gather energy into a ball at your right hip, step out with the left, and **Part the Wild Horse’s Mane** (Throat Strike) LEFT,  RIGHT, LEFT. _Store energy (xu jin) as though drawing a bow. Issue energy (fa jin) as though releasing an arrow. Store up, then issue. To gather is in fact to release. To break off is to again connect._

 

And so on. . .

 

 **White Crane Flashes Wings** . . . **Play the Pipa** . . . **Repulse Monkey**

 

 **Stoking the Peacock’s Tail** (Ward Off, Throw, Press, Roll Back, Push) LEFT then RIGHT. _You must pay attention to the transformations from empty to full, and to the qi moving throughout your body without the slightest hindrance._

 

 **Single Whip** into **Wave Hands Like Clouds** back to **Single Whip** again.

 

Through the kicks and the strikes and the punches. . .

 

 **Heel Kick** RIGHT. . . **Box the Ears** . . . **Heel Kick** LEFT

 

 **Snake Creeps Down** into **Golden Cock Standing on One Leg** (Groin Strike) LEFT then RIGHT.

 

 **Fair Lady at the Shuttle** (Guard the Brow and Push) LEFT, RIGHT. **Needle at the Bottom of the Sea** into **Fan Back** (Elbow Strike), followed by **Parry and Punch.**

 

And finally to **Close Up** and **Ending Position**

 

When I’ve finished, I feel lighter. More centered. Tingling with energy, really. Master Li says that’s the effect of moving _qi_ through the body with the forms. I’m just happy to feel a little less like shite than I did before I started.

 

**Baz**

 

As I climb the stairs to Simon and Penny’s flat, I have a sense of something familiar in the air that I can’t quite place. Like a fragrance blowing in on the soft spring breeze.

 

I let myself in, as I always do, and see from the shoes by the door that Simon is home and Penny is not. Excellent.

 

I can hear Simon moving around in the sitting room, doing his relaxation routine. I know that on some level, Simon’s already aware that I’m here. But I know that he’ll be completely absorbed in that action of his body moving through space, and I don’t want to interrupt. So I quietly set down my things and take off my shoes. Then I make my way to the sitting room.

 

As I poke my head around the door, it hits me. Simon’s magic. I see it shimmering across his skin as he moves through the room. He’s gathering the magic to himself with his arms, out of the air around him, and drawing it up from the floor through his feet.

 

The room is full of the smell of green wood and growing things. But not smoky and acrid like it used to be. It smells clean, like tender shoots and fresh-mown grass. This is Simon’s magic as it always should have been. What it would have been without the Mage’s fanatical manipulations.

 

I stand in the doorway, awe-struck, and wait for Simon to finish. I’ve watched him do this routine enough times to know that he’s near the ending.

 

Punch. Roll back. Turn and swing the arms wide. Gather. Press down. Arms to the side. Step together.

 

As Simon finishes, I see the magic begin to slowly trickle down from his fingertips, back into the floor. He turns then and smiles his brilliant smile at me. “Baz! I thought I heard you come in!”

 

Then he sees the look on my face and falters. “Baz, what’s wrong?”

 

Instead of answering, I step up to him quickly and take his face in my hands for a gentle kiss. Simon smiles into the kiss and I feel the buzz of his fading magic against my lips. It draws my magic up to the surface in delicious response. Crowley, I’ve missed this feeling. . . Simon’s magic mixing with mine.

 

It only lasts for a moment, but Simon feels it, too. His eyes shoot open and he grabs the front of my jumper with both hands.

 

“Baz, what are you?. . .How did you? . .What the fuck?!?”

  
“It’s not me that’s doing it, love. It’s you! It’s your magic! It’s back!”

 


	2. Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now with more tumbling around and kissing and being happy boyfriends
> 
> Warning for a minor melt down at the beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone for the hits and the kudos and the comments. They mean so much!! I hope you enjoy this extra bit of fun, frothy fluff! 
> 
> Mugi says "eep"! ^_^

**Baz**

 

Simon’s face crumples and he’s shaking his head. Bugger all. I know this look. It’s the look he used to get before he went off. It’s the same look he’d get in the beginning, when he suddenly remembered that his magic was gone. I can’t bear to see that look on his face again.

 

I pull him tightly against me with one arm and reach up to caress his cheek with the other. “Shh, Simon. It’s alright, love. Try not to shut down. Please. For me. You need to take a deep breath and listen. Alright? Can you try to do that? Please?”

 

Simon screws his eyes shut and takes a shuddering breath. I can hear him whispering. . . Breathe in . . . Breathe out . . . Then his shoulders slump and he nods.

 

I hold him close and whisper into his hair. “When I walked into the room just now, you were finishing your exercises. And I could see it. I could _feel_ it. Your magic. All around you as you moved. It was real. You have to believe me.”

 

Simon’s shaking his head against my shoulder. “It can’t be. I gave it up. It’s gone . . . no, no, NO, NOO, NOOOO!

 

My jaw clenches. I have to think fast. I have to help him shift before this spirals out of control. “Simon, show me your exercises. You looked really good when I came in. I want to see from the beginning. Please?” I rub his back, trying to soothe and encourage him.

 

“You mean my forms? You want to see me do my forms?”

 

“Yes, love. Please. I really do.”

 

Simon gives another shaky breath. But he nods. He doesn’t want to melt down. He never _wants_ to. And he knows this will help. Get him “out of his head.” Break the chain reaction of being overwhelmed.

 

I move back and he starts. **Beginning** **Position**. Deep breath in. And a second. And a third. BEGIN.

 

He really does look good. Graceful and controlled. He always has been better at expressing himself through movement and gesture than with words.

 

Crowley, I hope this works. By all that is magickal, please let this not be a fluke. And then I see it. It’s happening again. Simon’s gathering the magic from the air around him with his arms, and drawing it up from the floor through his feet. I see it shimmering across his skin, faintly at first. But getting stronger.

 

Simon finishes the set and comes to a stop. And again the magic starts to trickle away. He looks over at me and frowns. “Keep going. Show me again. Simon, please. This is important.”

 

He shakes his head but does what I ask. This time, the magic appears as soon as he begins and continues to get stronger as he moves. It’s almost as if he’s recharging a battery.

 

I start to walk slowly towards him. He glances at me and slows down. “No, keep going.”

 

I wait for the moment just before he begins to press out with both hands. Then I step up to close the distance between us and twine the fingers of both my hands with his. He’s pushing against my palms, and I feel it. The connection between us. Then his magic is flowing through me. Like that time we held hands on my bed in our room at Watford and went to the stars. Thank magic!

 

**Simon**

 

Baz takes my hands. And suddenly I feel it. It starts as a buzz where our hands are touching. Then I feel the rush of static up my arms and then all through my body. I feel like a current. Just like I used to. It's the feel of my magic. But better. My breath doesn’t burn. My mouth doesn’t taste like smoke. I don’t feel like there’s are star going nova in my chest.  

 

I do, however, feel giddy and light-headed, like I could fall over at any second. “Baz, I think I need to sit down.”

 

Baz leads me over to the couch. When I drop his hand for a second to sit down, I feel the magic start to slip away. And when I grab his arm, it gets stronger again. Like completing a circuit. As long as Baz and I are touching, the magic seems holds.

 

I know I must look completely gob-smacked. And Baz is grinning at me like a maniac. “See, I told you! Try casting a spell.”

 

“But I can’t think of any spells!”

 

“Then try an advert, song lyrics, anything. . .!”

 

**_Bust out the beanz_ ** . . . **_One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish_ ** . . . **_Bovril puts beef into you_ **

 

Baz snorts. “Why is it always food with you?”

 

“I can’t help it. I’m hungry!”

 

“Fine. Try something else.”

 

**_Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey_ ** . . . **_Tie a yellow ribbon_ ** . . _._ ** _I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazag ha_ **

 

“Seriously??!!?? Simon, that’s just idiotic. Even for you. Try some other lines from Doctor Who.”

 

**_Lots of planets have a North_** _. . ._ **_Hello, Sweetie!_** _. . ._ ** _Bow ties are cool!_ **

 

I feel something tingly around my neck. And when I look down, I’m wearing a maroon bow tie.

 

“That’s it. Try a nursery rhyme!”

 

**_Eeney, meney, miney, mo, catch a llama by the toe._ **

 

“That’s not right! Who says ‘catch a llama’?”

 

“But I like llamas!”

 

The couch cushions suddenly slant upwards, and we slide off in a tangle of limbs onto the floor.

 

Baz is laughing so hard he has tears in his eyes. And I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy. Maybe not since that Christmas Eve, when Baz agreed to let me be his terrible boyfriend.

 

I can feel the magic swirling in the room around us, making us both slightly tipsy. We start rolling around, clutching onto one another, as we shake with laughter. It’s a complete mess. And then we knock our foreheads together. And then we’re kissing.

 

It’s always good kissing Baz. So good.

 

After we've been snogging for a good bit, Baz does this thing where he runs his tongue along my lower lip before biting down, sharply enough to make me groan, but not so hard that it breaks the skin. He takes advantage of the distraction this causes to pin me down and take control of the kiss. As he moves his lips hungrily against mine, I feel the hot intensity of his magic pressing into me. He feels it, too. We break apart to goggle at each other in surprise.

 

“That’s never happened before.” I gasp.

 

Baz smirks. “Well, think about it. The last time we did this, your magic was so powerful there wasn’t room for anything else.”

 

“Are you saying that my magic is low-powered now?”

 

“No. It’s plenty powerful. You’re just not the magical equivalent of an H-bomb anymore. But your control is still complete pants. And your spells are a disgrace. At least now we can try to work on them without worrying about blowing up the surrounding neighborhood.”

 

I try to scowl, but I’m just too happy to bring it off properly. Instead, I flip us over so that I’m on top and growl, “Do it again.” And he does.

 

* * *

 

**Penny**

 

It’s well past tea time and moving toward evening when I finally gather my things and head home from the library. It’s nearly reading week, and I have masses of work to do. So my bookbag feels as if it weighs at least 10 stone.

 

Once I get inside our building, I’m so knackered that the thought of hauling the bloody thing up four flights of stairs to our flat utterly defeats me. Instead, I cast **_Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Lift_ ** on it and let it float along beside me as I climb the steps.

 

When I open the door to our flat, I’m hit with the overwhelming smell of petrichor and ozone, like the beginning of a summer rainstorm. And there’s the distinct buzz of magic in the air. I see from the shoes by the door that both Simon and Baz are home. But Baz and I have long since agreed that it’s not nice to use a lot of magic in front of Simon. So what the bloody hell is going on?

 

I drop my bag in the kitchen and go to find Simon and Baz. They’re sprawled out together on the sitting room rug with their legs tangled together and their shoulders resting up against a woolly stuffed llama where the couch used to be. This alone is bad enough. But as I look around the room, I see that the walls have been covered with yellow and green candy striped wallpaper, and there are fancy Chinese goldfish swimming around inside the space where the telly screen used to be. And why is Simon wearing a bowtie? “Stevie Nicks and Gracie Slick. What the fuck is this??!!??”

 

Simon and Baz are both glassy-eyed as they swivel their heads around in unison to look at me. I can tell they’ve been snogging each other senseless by the way that Simon’s mouth looks like it’s been stung by a whole swarm of bees. And Baz’s cheeks look positively rosy. But at least they both still have all their clothes on. So it could be worse.

 

Simon grins up at me blearily and slurs, “Penny, you’re home!!” while Baz barks out, “Bunce, have a seat!” as he grabs my hand to haul me down to sit with them next to  the llama, which smells like mothballs.

 

“What in the name of magic is going on?” I ask again, which sets them both off in a fit of hysterical giggling. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were both drunk as lords. They collapse against each other as they continue to shake with laughter, and I’m starting to get worried. Then I see it. . .the faint shimmer of magic across Simon’s skin.

 

I gasp in stunned surprise, as Baz cocks an eyebrow at me and grins. “Simon!” I shout as I launch myself forward. Simon catches me in a hug and murmurs into my hair, “Pen, it’s back. My magic. It’s back.”

 

Then Baz is hugging us, too. And we’re all tangled up together in a ginormous hug-pile next to the ridiculous llama. I’m so happy and so relieved, I don’t know whether I’m laughing or crying. Probably a bit of both.

**Author's Note:**

> Master Li’s teachings are taken from Louis Swaim’s English translations of the Five Tai Chi Classics, Cyndi Dale’s "The Subtle Body," and the advice and instruction of my own teachers.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Mugi says "eep" and scampers away. . .


End file.
